Thursday 8th December 2011

PH2: On yer bike Vettel

Another championship means another custom bike from German bike builder for the F1 stars

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Current F1 world champ Sebastian Vettel has scored himself some new wheels. Just two, mind. The speedy German and now part-time stand-up has just had a bespoke custom motorcycle made by specials builder Marcus Walz.

Walz, who runs Hardcore Motorcycles in Germany, created a bike for Vettel last year in celebration of his 2010 title and, despite the $100,000 price tag, it looks as if Sebastian has decided to celebrate his 2011 glory in the same way. Not that the price tag will trouble him too much - each race victory bonus this year could have funded four of them at least!

Insert 'Vettel's big chopper' gag here...

Vettel isn't the only F1 driver to appreciate Walz's work either, Kimi Raikkonen commissioned him to build a Ferrari-inspired chopper in 2007 after taking the title. So, who'll be getting Walz's business next year? Place your bets...

 

[Harry H]

What a complete pile of crap. Why on earth would someone waste £100k on that

[Fleegle]

I can't think of any other reason than he had a £100K to waste

[Japcarnut]

expensive I agree but some serious design and customisation going on there...

that said $100k is circa £64k according to xe.com

[CliveM]

I hate the bike (and the lack of irony in having a rear tyre that size on a bike that's so slow).......... but you've got to love F1 champions celebrating by getting custom bikes.
No point sniping about the price. It's his money and he's not depriving his family etc by spending it.

[MattOz]

Prefer the bike Walz did for Kimi, but that's not bad either.

[RemaL]

bet it corners well

[pagani1]

Does it have off-throttle exhausts and a floppy front?

[sprinter1050]

It's a drag bike (for his own back yard) yes?

Otherwise I have nothing further to say about such creations abominations.

[davidjwest]

I'd love to see Vet ride that over some speed humps.

[VB]

I like that

[srob]

Harry H said:

What a complete pile of crap. Why on earth would someone waste £100k on that

Why's it a pile of crap?

Awaits the usual "it won't handle, won't stop, it's slow" comment. I suspect that Vettel doesn't need his speed thrills on two wheels. That's if he's even allowed to ride motorcycles.

If he likes the way it looks, then it's served its purpose and hats off to the builder, it looks like the attention to detail is awesome

[PaulMoor]

Oh the one hand, yuck. Equaly I doubt it is more than a glorified trophy to himself which will never be ridden, in which case, better for a racing driver to have something sat in his garage than on a shelf.

[Fleegle]

srob said:

I suspect that Vettel doesn't need his speed thrills on two wheels. That's if he's even allowed to ride motorcycles.

Schumaker looked for speed outside of F1.....pity he spent most of the time sliding down the road.

IIRC, Mark Webber has a FZ1

[356Speedster]

I really like Walz' bikes. There's a lot of effort / engineering that goes into them, so their price tag reflects the man hrs & components used, plus a margin to run the business. Sure they're not cheap (nothing custom is) and value will always be perceived differently, usualy related to one's means.

Alas I'll probably not be in a position to buy one anytime soon, doubt I'll ever be able to justify something so extravagant, but am pleased that there are people out there who can and continue to keep small companies like this in business, challenging the status quo and pushing boundaries.

Thumbs up from me, I'd rather see this than just-another-Jap-sports-bike.

[SpudLink]

Fleegle said:

Schumaker looked for speed outside of F1.....pity he spent most of the time sliding down the road.

IIRC, Mark Webber has a FZ1

IIRC Schumaker used to ride a Harley, before his 1st retirement. It was only after he left F1 that he needed the speed of 2 wheeled racing.

I’d be surprised if Red Bull have Vettel tied to a contract that prevents him from having fun after the end of the season. Obviously no one wants to see their cash cow doing anything risky, but it seems to be in the nature of these guys that they need to enjoy themselves when off duty.

Mark Webber: When I bought my current bike I was told they sold him a Fazer, so I assumed it was the FZ1. But it might have been the 600.

As for the Vettel's new toy... it’s not my taste, but they didn’t make it for me.

[angusfaldo]

Harry H said:

What a complete pile of crap. Why on earth would someone waste £100k on that

Glad you asked that. Especially given your comment on the Harley Handling thread:

Harry H in Harley Handling thread said:

...no such thing as a crap bike as long as it's got two wheels and an engine, apart from Ducati Monster's which are for girls and poofs

[Harry H]

srob said:

Why's it a pile of crap?

Awaits the usual "it won't handle, won't stop, it's slow" comment. I suspect that Vettel doesn't need his speed thrills on two wheels. That's if he's even allowed to ride motorcycles.

Because it's wayyyy to much form over function. Why on earth build a motorcycle thats horrible to ride be it sports bike or cruiser . Surely for a 100k with a mediocre of thought you could come up with something that's unique, beautiful to look at AND is a joy to use. Just think the majority of these custom jobs are good for nothing apart from looking at. And IMHO they're not even good for that.

In the sports bike world

Moto Guzzi managed it with the MGS 01
BMW managed it with the HP2
Ducati managed it with the Desmosedici.

In the cruiser world

I can only think of Victory

[warch]

That looks like the most painful stretch to the handlebars (suppose as a racing driver he's used to withstanding discomfort for long periods of time)

[sprinter1050]

But NOT on his "Crown Vettels" !

[Harry H]

angusfaldo said:

Ah!, good point well made, you've got me there . It's the spending the money (no matter how much you've got) to come up with something that as a motorcycle is worse than anything to ride (Duc Monster included ) than anything currently on the market